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4 Exercise Black Dagger JTAC course student LBDR Jack Jennings awaits his control serial during the live fire component of Exercise Black Dagger. Photos: CPL Glen McCarthy AIRF RCE November 2, 2017 Striking hard as one What is it like to train and become a joint terminal attack controller? FLGOFF Dean Squire reveals how Exercise Black Dagger forges the next generation of combat-ready JTACs H E DOESN’T fly planes. He’s not ground crew. He doesn’t coordinate air movements, but high on a hill south-west of Townsville, LBDR Jack Jennings plays a vital role in facilitating the delivery of air power in support of ground forces. LBDR Jennings, from 1 RAR out of Brisbane, sits 4000m from a target. Circling above is an F/A-18A Hornet loaded with a mix of weapons, including high-explosive ordnance. On one of the two radios strapped to his chest, a discussion begins as the Hornet’s pilot and LBDR Jennings work out a plan to deliver the payload on target. This is a crucial relationship between two ADF members separated by an altitude of 5000ft and one where the margins for executing decisions come down to a couple of seconds. After a low-level attack, a plan is set between them. The bomb strikes perfectly, framed by a huge fireball. Several seconds pass until the “boom” of the explosion reaches LBDR Jennings’s vantage point. After the success of this live fire exercise, LBDR Jennings is now one step nearer to becoming a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC). This was just one scene from Exercise Black Dagger, which, over the best part of two weeks in early October, brought together assets and personnel from Nos. 3 and 4 Squadrons. There were also key support elements from Army, in order to test students nearing the end of a six-week course. LBDR Jennings was one of 12 students who took the final steps to becoming the next generation of JTACs “Work in the classroom is all good but can only take you so far,” LBDR Jennings said. “There’s no substitute for being out here and doing it for real.” Making the trip from RAAF Base Williamtown were instructors and two Pilatus PC-9A aircraft from 4SQN and nine F/A-18A Hornets from 3SQN. CO 4SQN WGCDR Michael Duyvene De Wit said entry into the JTAC course was very competitive. WGCDR Duyvene De Wit said students were hand picked and for many it had “been two years of fine tuning skills to earn a place on this hillside”. He said a key reason Black Dagger needed to be realistic was that it prepared JTACs for possible deployment to the Middle East in support of Operation Okra. “We put so much emphasis to make sure they are battle ready and combat ready before they step out,” WGCDR Duyvene De Wit said. “It’s about them having to make an informed decision based on up-to-date information in a very dynamic or fluid environment.”